Fluid circulation control for fluid couplings



Sept. 25, 1951 J. E. BECK FLUID CIRCULATION CONTROL FOR FLUID COUPLINGS Filed Nov. 28, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 F1 E.- l.

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FLUID CIRCULATION CONTROL FOR FLUID COUPLINGS Filed Nov. 28, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 1r' ='r. E.

\ ITILTEITt-EII" 4 .JUl-IN BBEEKER Pitt. urns S P 25, 1951 J. E. BECKER 2,568,706

FLUID CIRCULATION CONTROL FOR FLUID COUPLINGS Filed NOV. 28, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 I If Flttn'r'nag Patented Sept. 25, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT .O'FFICE v Y 2,568,706 Y f FLUID CIRCULATION CONTROL FOR FLUID 1... 1': iij Il r John Edward Becker, Darlington Township,

Durham County, Ontario, Canada Application November 28, 1947, Serial No. 788,500

A This invention relates to improvements in fluid circulation controls forfluid couplings andis-a continuation-in-part of my patent application Serial No. 749,562, filed May 21,1947. issued as Patent No. 2,508,442, May 23, 1950, wherein I disclosed the use of a stationary-fluid discharge pipe designed to have a scooping actionfor'removing fluid from the rotating impeller housing.

The object of the present invention is to imismounted concentrically with the centre ofrotation of the impeller housing thus eliminating fluid impact against the side of the length of the pipe as the fluid ring rotates.

Another and important feature of my invention is toprovide an alternative construction wherein the disc with its contained scoop pipe is mounted for free rotation in conjunction with the fluid ring and housing, so that when rotating no scooping action is'in effect; and to furnish a braking mechanism controlling the rotation of the disc and SCOOp..pipe whereby a slowing down of the speed of rotation of the disc and pipe in relation to the speed of rotation of the fluid ring and housing causes the scoop pipe to remove fluid from the coupling. I

With the foregoing and other objects in view as shall hereinafter appear, my invention consists of a fluid coupling constructed and arranged all as hereinafter more particularly described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

r Fig. 1 is a vertical longitudinal cross-sectional view through the 2 coupling assembly and fluid reservoir tank.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of a coupling and tank incorporating the alternative construction, the central portion of the coupling housingv being broken away to disclosed the rotatable disc mounting and the brake mechanism.

. Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken through the line 3-3, Fig. 1, and

.Fig. 4 is a vertical cross sectional view take through the line 4--l, Fig. 2. I 7

. z r Like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in. the different views of; the drawings.

Referring to Fig. 1, the driving shaft 2 is supported by ball and roller races 3 and 4 carried within a suitably supported bearing bracket -5. The inner end of the driving shaft 2 is formed with a flange 6, and an impeller housing I of orbicular form and of substantially S-shaped cross-section is secured to the face of the flange 6 to rotate with the driving shaft 2.--' The inner portion 8 of the housing 1, remote from the portion secured to the flange 6', is carried by a ball bearing 9 mounted upon a stationary hub shell Ill. A fluid seal ring II is positioned adjacent to the ball bearing 9. A fluid feed pipe 12 extends upwardly from the hub shell H], being in communication with an annular chamber l3 formed within the hub shell andopening into the impeller housing I.

The hub shell l0 contains a driven shaft 14 which is mounted within roller and ball races [5 and I6, fluid seal rings I! being also provided. The inner end of the driven shaft H carries a flange I8, and a concave ring-shaped runner housing I9 is secured to the flange and contained within the impeller housing I, The impeller housing 1 contains a partition wall 20 which is shaped to follow the contour of the runner hous through which fluid passes in entering and leaving the housing'l.

The impeller housing 1 and the runner housing- 19 carry a plurality of the usual radial impeller blades 22 and 23, supporting the usual ring meme bers and 25, so that passages are formed for the fluid transmission of power.

The impeller housing 1 contains a second par-' tition wall 26 which is shaped to follow the contour of the partition wall 20 and is spaced away therefrom to form a fluid inlet compartment bounded by the partitions 20 and 26 and communicating with the annular chamber I3 within the hub shell 10. The partition wall'26 rotates free of the hub shell l0 and has it outer edge secured tothe inner face of the peripheral wall of the housing I, the peripheral portion of the wall being pierced with a number of fluid evacuation orifices 50. The partition wall 26 carries a plurality of radially positioned vanes 21 which function to reduce slippage of the rotating fluid ring within the fluid inlet compartment of the housing I, thus accelerating the entrance of fluid into the periphery of the housing when the housing is being filled.

The hub I carries a disc 28 which is suitably secured thereqn as hykey pins 29. the disc being positioned between the partition 26 and the rear wall of the housing I and shaped to follow the contour of the space between the partition wall '2 and the housing. A scoop pipe-3Q is radially pg.- sitioned within the disc 28 and'hasits outerend containing the fluid inlet orifice 3| protruding from the periphery of the disejand 'direeted.to.-.... ward the direction of rotation as shown by the arrow in Fig. 3. The inner end Of. the. Q??? communicates with a passage 32 'withi'n'th hub he shtei he leeve 3 the pipe'illldischarges into the reservoir 34 through the pipe 33, and as fluid may be fed into the--couplingikthrohgh the feed pipe l2, it will beappreciated that fluid may be continuously withdraw from the, coupling into the reservoir and fed from the reservoir into the coupling;

H], which passage is connected to a vertical pipe 33 opening into a reseryoir 34 and controlled by avalvoii. t

- in order .to prevents pneee fthe luid. ring within the disc containing space in the impeller housin the. partition 2.6 and the rear. wall of the housing. I arry a niural tv o rad ellyhositinned/van s. iii. and 31-. The .YanesBQ and 3 sense. the. fluid. ring. between. the partition and th rear. wall Q15. the. housin 7. to rotate. at sub: stantially thesame speed. as. the housing. where-.

by opening. of...the valve. 35. will cause-the scoop nine..tq immediately evacuate. the fluid ring from he housing 1...

The upn rend of the fluid pipe 12-. which also extends. to the. reservoir 34 is contained within a Slidable regulatin sleeve 38 which projects upwardly into the; reservoir anclmaybe adiusted in height by means of. a handle. 39. V

Toenahle air; to...readily escape from .the ima nellerhousi e lwhenfluidis. admitted intothe housing through the annular chamber. l3 in the hub. 10;, a pipe. 49,.extends. from the. inner end of thehub. to to. thereservoirfl;

Qpemtion..+filuid is contained within the .res-. ervoir 31 and is. admittedtosthecoupling through the. feed, pipe. 112.. The. .quantity of fluid ad.-. mitted. isegoyernedby adiustment. of the, height of the slidable regulating sleeve 38. When the. top of the; regulating sleexeis below the. level; of. the flu-idimthe res.ervoir,..fluid. will. flow downward: throughthe pipe lz'iuntilthe fluid level in the reservoir coincides with the top of the sleeve.

To. put. the. coupling. asshown in Fig. 1; into. ope oration, fluid is permitted to pass from the reservoir into. the impeller housing. 1; the fluid. passe. ing through the annular chamber I3 within the hub. shell: lit and entering; the compartment bounded; by the partitions. ZOand 26 1110 flow be. tween the radial vanes 21 to' the/periphery ofthe. housing I: under the centrifugal force of the rotation of the-.housingassembly by the driving shaft. 2. The. fluid flows through the orificeszlz in the partition wall into the-portion of the housing Lacontainingthe impeller'blades 22 and 23.

When the drivingshaft 2 is in motion, the fluid rotating from the impeller blades 22wi1l impact the runner blades 23 with the resultant rotation ofthe runner housing l9 and the driven shaft l4. secured thereto. It willbe seen that thecomplete coupling assembly, with the exceptionof thehubandbearing assembly supports, will be rotating. As-the disc 28 carrying'thescoop pipe L isstationary, being secured to the hub 19, the ro- Eatin movementofthe coupling willtend. to di'.-. rect; fluid intohthepipe. If the valve. 35. is closed.

the proportion of fluid withdrawn to the proportion of fluid returned being regulated by adjustmeet o the valve .;ene siee 5% In. this. newer-@ 2 he retained. r m shrine sheft redefine the riven sihei spee is e, standstill, p Itw beree i s: ehhree e ed that hr the his:

vi i n 9f he d s 28 W qns ue ieii' -hereb flu d is emev d the cou l n in t Q Il fl iQl a. r tat ble c ores Pi e-c nts -e: d ,1. is pr vi ed to take the place of hes ticiharr i eifl as used in e. eee truetiee sh r in..- i; v a tita The. sheet! isiormedwi ehossikmq rited he on b liheer hezifia $.1 hm he hub is; fluid flo in irem. th nin .12: t. theequplinein the ame mann r as the. eonstruet en shown. Fi s. 1, and 3;. One portion .thebess urr u d y abrake hand which is actuated: by herat d handle 44. extendin hrou h. theh h .Hlahd ar sine-an arm 45. 0 1: i s nner. end whi h is: tonnes dto th brake-h nd: so that rotation of; handler inDIExdiEQtior-r wi l causethe brake bandto engaeeitheboss 43-. and hu retardm ation of: the. disc. at.

Th disofl l containsa..ra dialpipe, 46. embedded. therein and .havingits outer-endprqtruding from. the.- neripheryxof the-:discand formed. with a fluid. entrance. orifice .fli direotedtowardsthe direo..-.

5 tionlof rotation The. inneniace of. thexhuln 42 is formed with a fluid passagegroove lli whioh steomnlenientary-ito a similar-groove. the h b. .llL. Thexg'roove. 4%. opensinto the; passagee thin. the huhlt and whi h is. connected. t thever iealx nine. .33.: 'Bhe;..innen endof the. .009 .pipevfliopens. into. the groove 43 inthe. disc: 4|, so that fluid may always flow from thezscoon pipe. llithraushthe grooves, 48...and .4 9;.iint ith passageway The;v other-.constnuctional den tails of this coupling are the sameiaathe con: struction. shown.in'.-Eig: 1

.Qpemtion.- -.-.When" powersis; being trans-i mitted from. the. driving: shaft. zit-o the; 'driveni shaft. M. the :disc 4t: permitted...-toi .freely. ms tate, and will-do. soat-.is'ubs'tantiallythe. same.

speed. as v.thelspeedz of rotation. oh the fluid rin within the impeller housing. 7:- ln .this. partieulai== construction ."itisl' netsnecessary to prdvideithe regulating valve 35 in the discharge pipe=3z3t If it is desired to reduce the speed of the driven shaft M in relation to the speed of the driving shaft 2, the brake 51 is partially applied through actuation of the handle 44 so that the speed of rotation of the disc 4| in relation to the speed of rotation of the fluid ring in the coupling is reduced, whereby fluid in the ring will be moving faster than the outer end of the scoop pipe and will therefore enter the scoop pipe to be discharged into the reservoir 34. The return of fluid from the reservoir to the coupling is governed by adjustment of the height of the sleeve 38. If it is desired to bring the driven shaft M to a standstill the brake 5| is fully applied so that the rotativemovement of the disc 4| is brought to a standstill whereby fluid is entirely removed from the impeller housing 1.

While I have shown certain constructions of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the particular assemblies shown and that I may make any such changes and alterations as may seem desirable without departing from the spirit of my'invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

l. A fluid coupling comprising a rotatable circular driving impeller housing having a plurality of radial impeller blades secured within one end portion thereof, a driven runner housing having a plurality of radial runner blades therein and contained within the impeller housing adjacent to the radial impeller blades, a partition wall contained within the impeller housing adjacent to the runner blades and containing a plurality of fluid passage orifices in its peripheral portion, a second partition wall contained within the impeller housing and spaced away from the first partition wall to form a fluid inlet compartment bounded by the two partitions, said second partition wall being also spaced away from the end wall of the impeller housing remote from the impeller blades to form a fluid evacuation chamber which communicates with the fluid inlet compartment through a plurality of fluid evacuation orifices arranged in the peripheral portion of the second partition wall, a stationary disc concentrically contained within the fluid evacuation chamber, a fluid evacuating scoop pipe contained within the disc and extending from its central portion to its periphery, a fluid inlet scoop head projecting from the periphery of the disc and communicating with the scoop pipe in the disc, the fluid inlet orifice in the head facing in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the fluid evacuation chamber, a fluid reservoir, a fluid evacuating conduit extending from the end of the pipe bore in the central portion of the disc to the fluid reservoir, whereby a coupling fluid evacuation passage is constituted by the orifices in the partition walls and the fluid evacuation chamber and thence through the disc scoop pipe to the evacuating conduit, a fluid feed pipe extending from the fluid reservoir to the central portion of the fluid inlet compartment, and means for independently controlling the passage of fluid through the fluid evacuating conduit and the fluid feed pipe.

2. A fluid coupling as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second mentioned partition wall is of ring form and the fluid feed pipe communicates with its central orifice.

3. A fluid coupling as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second mentioned partition wall is of ring form and is secured at its periphery to the inner face of the impeller housing, the fluid feed pipe communicating with the central orifice of the wall, and a plurality of radial vanes protruding from the face of the wall into the fluid inlet compartment and extending from the central orifice in the Wall to the portion of the wall opposite the fluid passage orifices in the partition wall which is adjacent to the runner blades.

4. A fluid coupling as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fluid evacuating scoop pipe containing disc is mounted for free rotation with the impeller housing, brake means for controlling the speed of rotation of the disc, and wherein the second mentioned partition wall is of ring form and the fluid feed pipe communicates with its central orifice.

5. A fluid coupling as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fluid evacuating scoop pipe containing disc is mounted for free rotation with the JOHN EDWARD BECKER.

7 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,859,607 Sinclair May 25, 1932 1,938,357 Sinclair Dec. 5, 1933 2,187,656 Kiep et al Jan. 16, 1940 2,284,362 Birmann May 26, 1942 2,419,919 Sinclair Apr. 29, 1947 2,422,850 Porter June 24, 1947 2,436,034 Buehler Feb. 17, 1948 

